Showing posts with label Drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drugs. Show all posts
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Many long time Cannabis tokers around the world have known that mixing Tobacco with Cannabis is a bad idea hence only smoke the herb in its purest available form. This habit of mixing Tobacco with Cannabis is more of a European thing and has become popular around the world thanks to the inclusion of Charas or Hashish in the smoking scene. Although Charas and Hash both can be smoked in their pure form, many prefer mixing it with some tobacco to make the joint burn smoothly or give the experience of fullness of smoke when smoked in a pipe(chillum). This habit of mixing tobacco makes us crave something to smoke even more. For many years I was mixing tobacco with cannabis and rolling my spliffs, justifying it for all the BS reasons possible. But the truth is that Tobacco is so addictive, however is legal, so there is less of a social stigma associated with it and since its easily available and priced nominally as compared to weed prices worldwide, most people mix it up, thinking its gonna make their stash last longer, however end up smoking way too much than one needs, if one was smoking it pure.


Its been a few months now since I quit Tobacco for good and life has been so different in all ways possible. From the time I wake up ... I noticed there was no craving to smoke like its been for so many years. Even switching to cleaner tobacco like American Spirit, Pueblo or Manitou ... may seem like a healthier option, however the nicotine cravings don't go away until you just stop mixing the two. So now, its just the pure herb in a glass pipe which helped me easily transition from being a heavy roller to an occasional toker allowing me to focus on more important things in life like staying healthy following a good diet and lifestyle.

I started cycling and within no time the focus quickly shifted from chasing hits and doobies to sweating it out and feeling more power in your being accomplishing more life enhancing goals. Any kind of physical activity which makes one sweat and exercise their complete body is the need of the hour. The feeling you get after a physical workout is beyond any other substance induced high. One can still toke Cannabis occasionally to relax and chill after a long day, taking power from a habit that has been draining us for many years. Cannabis doesn't have any harmful effect on the lungs and has been scientifically proven to actually increase lung expansion and breathing capacity while easing physical pain and calming things down at all levels of our being.



We tend to follow collective habitual patterns as we usually smoke socially in closed circles and groups and the habit is self perpetuating as long as we are hanging out in the same circles. Life is all about changes and once we make those shifts with our habits, we will start to notice how we've been foolishly wasting away a lot of precious herb, time and our health along the way. I've been intending to put this out there just as a reminder to any of you who are looking to make serious changes in your life by choosing differently. All we really have in this plane of existence is our physical being and we have the power and responsibility to improve the quality of our lives by simply choosing better options.

You don't really have to wait for your body to start showing you signs of discomfort and disease before you can make the switch to smoking pure herb. Just stop mixing the two and use a small glass pipe or any other pipe that's easy to clean and toke away just like old times when we held the smoke in for a bit, for a proper hit ! :D

References : Mixing Cannabis and Tobacco

Image Courtesy : Sensiseeds


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There are no accidents, no random chances in this reality we co-create and experience at an individual and at a collective level. Everything happening in our lives is pushing us forward on our evolutionary path and each one of us is on this journey, whether we like to accept this now or later is one's choice hence our journey from the darkness of ignorance to a place of knowing, a place of truth and never ending light. We are being nudged forward to recreate ourselves each day and there are forces at play beyond the comprehension of our rational thinking mind who are always guiding us along. Whether you call it your higher self, your Intuition, Spirit Guides, Angels, God etc ... it is essentially another aspect of yourself, it is you. Through many psychedelic journeys we come face to face with the inherent connection between all things, which are nothing in their truest essence ... the universe is energy at different frequencies of vibration and we are all living the illusion of swimming in this sea of consciousness however we are this sea, just for the sake of analogy ... trying to put certain ineffable revelations in words, humbly.

From my own personal journey within the raving culture, I have seen and experienced many different kinds of situations which have somehow shifted my awareness from perceiving this world from the limited framework of my mind to something outside of my self which is essentially omnipresent, its everywhere. Enlightening revelations may well be a consequential side effect of taking Psychedelics and becoming one with the music in a trance dance frenzy ... expressing our truest feelings, uninhibited. On almost all of my experiences on LSD I felt completely in tune with the intelligence of the body, which spoke to me in an unspoken language, showing me signs ... what i should be paying attention to ... what is really important in the here and now ... my attention was always drawn towards the breath. Almost involuntarily, one goes into a state of deep trance and we start to receive information if you may, or downloads from somewhere ... everything begins to make more cohesive sense when the patterns start to emerge as dots begin to connect. The Universe is always working with us and not against us ... if we only learn to trust our intuition more we will realize how everything happening is a consequence of what we have held in our vibrational state. We are capable of achieving great things once we start to flow with the natural frequencies of creation which speak only one language which is the language of love, its the highest form of vibrational energy we can fathom and it is what everything is made of.


The Psychedelic parties and the raving culture are definitely powerful avenues to bring about this Psychedelic Catharsis in our lives, however these are only gateways or portals to something even more grander if we learn to traverse these paths well, with love and awareness ... Once Psychedelics open up your mind then you can never go back to the older version of yourself and this is what scares most people who are afraid of change and are still desperately holding onto overrun patterns chasing illusions in the material world. There are many in the Psychedelic community who are looking for a quick fix and escape from the mundane through the Psychedelic Experience ... and it works, for a while ... Until one starts to become more sensitive to energies and can see underlying patterns behind what goes on ... its almost like when we are bombarded with too much overwhelming information one finds it hard to make complete sense of ... being surrounded by a many different energies, lacking the feeling of clarity ... feels like more wild, untamed, unconscious energy pumped by amphetamines for most part, since a lot of folks these days just want the physical sensations of a Serotonin Blast which equates to the feelings of love ... with side effects of course and often short lived.





The Psytrance culture has given a lot of Psychonauts across the Planet a lot to work with, provided the work is done like it should. Taking Psychedelics responsibly requires one to be well informed and guided by someone experienced, usually a Tripsitter. Our energetic state before doing these Psychedelics is also key to what our experience would shape up like. For most part, on our Tryptamine journeys we encounter what we are holding in our present state of conscious awareness and what matches our vibration. The Universe is always working with us, showing us what we need to see and we are the ones who create each experience by the power of our thoughts. The external world, our dreams, our desires are all illusions, however serve a purpose of showing us where our vibrational energy is taking us, giving us the opportunity to learn and hence create more consciously. We find most peace and satisfaction in our lives when we are on our path, following the signs the Universe is showing us while being guided by our intuition and not our limited egos. My personal journey so far has been profoundly revelatory and compels me to share some of these realizations with you for this is my purpose, my mission, to be able to articulate to best of my ability the random strangeness we call life, which is in fact not random at all and there are no coincidences either. Its always humbling to realize the trickster nature of the Universe which swiftly rearranges itself just when we think we had it all figured out. We can chase the next party, the next psychedelic experience, the next hot partner ... finally realizing what we are searching for has always been here with us. This many may not fully comprehend for its where they are on their journey right now. I know this for I have been there myself.

The Psychedelic Awakening opens up new pathways and breaks down some of the self created barriers in our mind about who we think we are ... but we tend to forget easily and get seduced by the Maya of the material world. This too has a purpose to serve for it has taken you to the point of awakening. This Psychedelic Catharsis, this Ego Meltdown or Ego Death is what brings about a powerful transformation in our lives and we start becoming sequentially, more aware of the path forward .... being guided by intuition. We have many gifts waiting to be discovered and they come to us in Solitude. I am forever grateful to the Psychedelic Trance scene for showing me the way and also making me realize that the scene by itself is not necessarily the way and Psychedelics are to be used wisely and not abused for the sake of feeding our limited pride and egos. I am grateful to all the people who have been part of my journey so far and have brought about many important lessons for me to grow and be a better human.

* Anicca *

::: In Lak'ech Ala K'in :::

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Addiction is a very individual disease. Each person who suffers from addiction experiences it in a way that is unique to them. However, when it comes to treatment, we often fail to recognize how different each individual can be.

We’re facing a nationwide opioid epidemic, and the truth is we still have a lot to learn about treating addiction. There is no single magic ‘cure’ that’s going to work for everyone, and for many people recovery is often a matter of trial and error.


Treatment and the Epidemic


As more and more people are taken by addiction, we are experiencing a growing necessity for different types of treatment programs. The ‘cookie cutter’ program approach isn’t guaranteed to work for everyone.

When a doctor prescribes a medication to treat an illness, they monitor the effectiveness and make changes based on how well the treatment is working. That kind of problem solving needs to be used when treating addiction.

Its important that addicts be able to course-correct their treatment and find access to new pathways towards sobriety. Fortunately, rehabilitation professionals are becoming increasingly familiar with alternative methods of treatment.

One of these lesser-known options utilizes a drug called Ibogaine—a natural psychoactive therapy that has proven to be an effective addiction treatment.


Ibogaine – A Brief History


Ibogaine is a natural alternative to some of the more traditional addiction treatment options. It’s derived from an African plant that has psychedelic properties called Tabernanthe iboga.

The native peoples of West Africa have used this iboga root, in the form of a tea, to induce spiritual awareness. It has been the core of their spiritual ceremonies for centuries.

However, in the 1960s, Ibogaine, extracted from the iboga root, was found to interrupt addiction.

While experimenting with different substances Howard Lotsof, who at the time was a heroin addict, discovered that ingesting Ibogaine eliminated his withdrawal symptoms and his body’s dependency on heroin.

After this realization, he began treating many of his friends who were also heroin addicts with the same results—they were able to overcome the horrible symptoms of withdrawal and almost immediately break free of opioid dependence.

To Lotsof, this was a massive discovery, and he spent the rest of his life studying Ibogaine and its effects on the addicted brain.

In order to understand exactly how Ibogaine works we need to take a look at the brain and exactly how addiction affects it.


How does Addiction Change the Brain?


Chemical dependency occurs when someone’s brain becomes so accustomed to the neural chemicals, provided by drugs and alcohol, that the natural production of those chemicals becomes much less effective. This means that if they stop supplying their brain with that addictive substance, the body starts to fight back—causing physical withdrawal.

Often, the withdrawal experience is so unpleasant that many addicts will continue to use just to avoid the discomfort. When a person no longer has the ability to feel normal without taking some sort of drug, they have a serious problem with no simple solution.

Getting through physical withdrawal can be brutal. Although many clinics offer what they consider to be “better” ways to get through withdrawals, the detox solution is often just sitting in a room while the brain adjusts back to normal levels—often taking days or even weeks.

How Ibogaine Works


As an alternative to enduring this extended period of painful detox, many addicts turn to Ibogaine. Ibogaine targets the area of the brain associated with addiction. By “resetting” the brain, Ibogaine is able to renew the neurons and pathways back to their pre-addicted state.

For the addict, this means that Ibogaine eliminates 80% or more of all withdrawal symptoms almost immediately after the dose is taken.

This means that Ibogaine can often offer addicts not only a fresh take on addiction treatment, but also a holistic method of detoxing quickly without the pain of withdrawals.

According to Mental Health Daily, “The most notable potential benefit is that a single dose of Ibogaine could lead to long-term suppression of opiate/opioid cravings such that former opioid/opiate users are able to maintain abstinence for an indefinite duration.”

But if Ibogaine is so effective at treating addiction, why isn’t it available in the USA?

Ibogaine in the USA


Unfortunately, doctors in the U.S. have been unable to study the medication to its full potential. Since the 1960s, almost every psychedelic, including Ibogaine, has been outlawed even for scientific study.

However, with MDMA and other psychedelics starting to gain footing in the United States medical system, Ibogaine may not be far behind. Even though Ibogaine has shown to be fatal in some who use it, modern science has significantly reduced this negative outcome, making Ibogaine much safer than it was just a few years ago.

The future of Ibogaine and other psychedelics is promising.

Freedom from Addiction


Ibogaine can help the brain return to its naturally balanced state much faster than waiting for the body to recover on its own. But it is not a cure and it will not force an addict to stay clean.

Freedom from addiction to drugs and alcohol is a lifelong process that requires a different approach for each person. Ibogaine, combined with a rehab or aftercare program, can often be one of the most promising treatment options, especially for those who have tried other treatment programs with little or no success.


Ibogaine can help the brain return to its naturally balanced state much faster than waiting for the body to recover on its own. But it is not a cure and it will not force an addict to stay clean.

Freedom from addiction to drugs and alcohol is a lifelong process that requires a different approach for each person. Ibogaine, combined with a rehab or aftercare program, can often be one of the most promising treatment options, especially for those who have tried other treatment programs with little or no success.

With new discoveries being made in alternatives like Ibogaine, there’s more hope for long-term sobriety than ever before. Every addict deserves a chance to live a sober and successful life. There are many treatment options available and Ibogaine is just one of them. Each addict must educate themselves and find the right treatment for them.



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    Art by Robert Beatty

    The progress being made in psychedelic science & research is out of this world because it is a world apart from everything that I knew about the subject growing up.

    "LSD & psychedelics will fry your brain and you will end up in a psychotic state for the rest of your life if you are stupid enough to take them. They are evil and will destroy your life."

    Yes I lived a sheltered life. But that was the limit of my education on the subject. 'Stay as far away as possible if you want to live a healthy life'. And I did.

    It was only in recent years I started seeing different information pop up about them. And the truth about psychedelics would appear to be very different and pointing to an almost magical impact on the brain. Forget mind blowing expansive experiences just for a moment. Forget mystical experiences also.


    I am talking about the practical benefits of psychedelics, from giving up cigarettes to curing depression anxiety & PTSD and much more. In recent months MDMA has received the backing of the FDA who designated it as a 'breakthrough therapy' for PTSD. If the growing scientific community at the centre of this are to succeed it could have a radical impact on mental health treatment. It could as Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris says "change the world".

    In my short video I talk to Amanda Feilding who is known as the 'hidden hand' guiding the research worldwide and neuroscientist, Dr. Robin Carhart Harris. I ask about where the fears originated from and what the results of the research is telling us.

    Author : Frank McCaughey / https://www.youtube.com/user/frankmccaughey




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    Goa has seen it all. Freed from Portuguese rule in 1961, a village of bare minimums is what remained. A virgin paradise with lush green palm trees, open fields, serene beaches, quaint structures and a magical sunset. Little did it know that its next invaders were going to be of quite a different nature. The world’s flower children were on their way from all over the world, onto a common path through the Middle East now known as the ‘hippie trail’. Sad to know that is not at all possible in this present day. “See you in Goa for Christmas’, were the words said to all compatriots on the road. As we have it, they finally reached. The locals were primal and basic, almost shocked to see bare-naked bodies of different color jiving on the beach.

    They brought an atmosphere to the young and independent village of Goa. Sensing the newcomers’ demand for food and refreshment, chai shops and restaurants with fish curry and rice started to flourish. The ever-popular Flea market started simply as a place of trade and exchange amongst these baby boomers, a very different scenario from the commercial center it has become today. Yes, we must ‘adapt’ with the times. In fact, the present day beach shack culture that is a trademark, all the live band jams prominent through pubs, bars and restaurants and many other signature elements of modern day Goa can be credited to our hippy friends. They were the first ones to put Goa on the map for any kind of tourism. It’s quite sad that the authorities only glorify and attack the few negative aspects of this culture. Goa created a new shrine for the perfect collection of young hedonistic, differently thinking individuals at the perfect place and at the perfect time.

    The most unique ritual however, developed by this tribe, were the full moon parties.

    Since Goa was not always powered all over with electricity. Especially in the areas of Anjuna and beyond. Even now the ever-faithful orange streetlight shines dimly, leading the way. These colorful marauders would wait for the moon to be at its brightest, and then come out to play. Starting with acoustic jams leading into pure electric Rock N Roll, as our flowery friends did manage to bring in Fender sound systems, an electric bass and an electric guitar. Long time Psychedelic Trance master Goa Gil was a prominent figure in these jams, and is from the first generation of hippies to enter Indian soil. Goa flourished with what seemed to be a perfect amalgamation of counterculture and spirituality. ‘Goa is a state of mind’ it is popularly said. Many of these individuals were exposed to mystical experiences, within and around themselves. Instances of synchronicity, connection, oneness and freedom. With time their music of preference began to change.

    Due to the developments made by Roland from Japan in the 80s, many analog synthesizers drum machines and digital audio workstations came into existence. This lead to a boom in electronic music all over the world and people, who didn’t even know music, could become musicians. This electronic music took different shapes in different parts of the world. From their visits back home, these Goa freaks brought back with them Techno from Germany, Acid House from England and various other electronic musical styles. With the use of cassettes and DAT mixers, it became possible to join these pieces of music together, to create a long term, hypnotic and transcendental effect. This switch took place somewhere in the late 80s. By this time, the tribe had become bigger and word had spread around the world, for Goa being a center for hedonism, spirituality and dance rituals.


    Journeying into the 90s, Goa Trance was born. At the time very similar sounding to Acid house, due to the use of similar synths, but more indigenous to the experience the Goa party had to offer. Musicians in the scene had become more enthusiastic about converting there own experiences into sonic stories and slowly an arsenal of Goa trance DJ’s and producers started to birth. DJ Laurent and Goa Gil are said to be the pioneering minds behind what became the new sound of the psychedelic movement. Along with other musical brains such as Green Nuns Of the Revolution, Psykaos, Shiva Joerg and the Infinity Project, the sanity of young psychedelic travellers were in good hands. Parties were arranged differently, back then. As opposed to the fixed venues we have today, Goa was open free land.

    Parties were set up anywhere and everywhere. Bamboo Forest, Anjuna Temple, Arambol Lake, the hill on South Anjuna, Chapora fort and I could keep going on. 9 Bar is one such venue that has existed through the course of this modern movement. A signature sunset spot, it is close to many psychonaut hearts. Speakers were set up, and the ‘techno shamans’ would weave audio webs of consciousness for thirteen to twenty four hours. The freaks did the decorations themselves, involving UV paint, banners with psychedelic patterns, aliens, Hindu deities and fractal designs. Parties have been said to go on for days. In my conversations with many who have experienced those times claim that even though the music was not as intense as it is today, the experience was a lot more twisted. I was told that people would stare at the morning sun and celebrate their survival.


    Ozora Promo Party ~ One Day in Goa : Shiva Valley, Anjuna

    I do believe a ceremony such as this is about breaking layers. We come in the night with our burdens of our everyday rat races. We begin our journey and since it is the destination we begin to lose ourselves. In a space of common rhythm and pure ecstasy. Slowly these layers start to shed and it becomes a little uncomfortable, because you are slowly being exposed into your true self. This does get a little uncomforting, but you just have to let go. Somehow it is happening through an extremely powerful hypnotic groove. The sweat is gushing away the impurities and the muscles are working overtime, the ultimate detoxification. All around you are specimens going through similar processes and this most definitely creates a common understanding. As the morning sun rises there are expressions of empathy, appreciation and smiles of gratitude being hurled around, and you are still dancing. Somehow I do understand the old school annoyance with what the scene is like today, but it is all on an upward path. I’ve heard there was a time when no alcohol was involved, no onlookers standing around the dance floor. Due to some occasional trouble, even today, people come to experience magic more than pick up girls and ‘look cool’. That does prove for this scene to be one of meaning.


    As the dawn of the 2000s approached, Goa Trance had started travelling the world. Due to the heat of the Goan summer and the intense monsoons that followed, they were trying times for partying to take place. In order to replicate the Goa experience internationally, these freaks took to stomping on festival grounds in Europe and other areas in the world. More producers started to rise and bring their own style. This was also made possible with development in music technology and Goa Trance slowly became Psytrance. CDJ’s were now available and could take the weather conditions mother Goa had to offer. This is of course in no comparison to all the live MIDI controllers and analog set ups we are seeing today. Full On music started to pump out of Israel and England, Dark Psychedelic was surging out of Europe and Russia, the distinct twilight style of South Africa. Now of course we get everything from everywhere and not to forget many more sub-styles at our convenience. This music is exceptionally intricate as it deals with minds that are most vulnerable.

    They are entrusting their psyche to these frequencies, which is why the one controlling them must really understand what he/she is doing. Psychedelic Trance music has another beautiful property. It is designed according to the time of day, surroundings and to induce a certain flow of emotions. There are fun daytime psychedelic sounds by the likes of Dickster, Tristan, Laughing Buddha and Earthling. There is the groovy night sounds that come from Ajja, Dust, SouthWild, Psymetrixx and Gaspard. We have powerful dark psychedelic music, coming from masters such as Dark Elf, Kindzadza and Darkshire. The folks from Parvati Records, Disco Valley Records, are developing beastly forests sounds. Forest Psychedelic is said to have been born under the age old trees of Chapora.


    I can see the relation between the sound and the surroundings that inspired it. There are various other styles such as Psygressive and Suomi Saundi that are slowly gaining in popularity. The list of labels grooming and spreading talent, is endless. The style of Psytrance is becoming more profound and musical as time progresses. Technological wonders have lead to producers converting the experiences in their minds into proper waveforms of brilliance. There is an infusion of rhythms from various cultures, melodic ideas from different geographical locations and a thumping bassline of unison and oneness. We now have psychedelic producers implying musical modes and complex mathematics in order to produce crisp, mind-boggling sound. The beats per minute ranges from 138 – 170 onwards. The various styles can no longer be classified through speed because now there is dark music at 138 and Full on Music at 148. It now mostly depends on the dynamic and mood with which that space of silence is filled by the producer. Many artists are even sampling live instruments into their act, let alone artists such as Highlight Tribe and Peaking Goddess Collective, who replicate electronic sound with organic instruments.

    The local scene in the motherland is also booming, with the burst of versatility and maturity in Indian musicians. We now have acts like Starlab, Kerosene Club/ Flipknot/ Fiber Stomp, Janux, and Farebi Jalebi taking international stages regularly. Artists such as Groove Addict (Nano Records) are affiliated with top record labels all around the world. Producers such as Daash, Hydropanic, Chakraview and Aghori Tantrik are some of the talented homegrown musicians that are influencing many younger minds. There is also a local army of labels such as Vantara Vichitra and Digital Om that are doing wonderful things to put India on the world map. The availability of Indian DJ’s with eclectic music tastes is not a problem anymore. Triptone, Nitin, Karan ‘Third Eye’, Karran Khanna are some of these prominent names. Goa is still the world center for the Psychedelic Trance culture with ever-mystical spots such as Shiva Valley, Monkey Valley, Pipers Plateau and Hill Top that are curating top of the line Trance –n- Dance experiences.

    Even though the culture has had to adapt to a more industrial framework as compared to the free flowing days of the sixties to nineties, it is still a new wave world culture. People are still uniting over different ideologies, mystical experiences and a sense of belonging. This music is often shunned and disregarded as a ‘sensible’ genre of music. I do strongly believe it is only for those who wish to understand it. Not in any tone of judgment, but simply to agree to disagree. Quoting Bob Dylan, one must not criticize what they cannot understand. It is also one of the youngest styles of music to exist, and is undergoing a period of rapid growth. It is only exciting to know what evolution in the human mind and available technology will bring in the coming years. Psytrance is a perfect mixture of modular analog physics, rhythm, groove, melody and cutting edge production. There is also a plus point, which is exclusivity. The crowd comes for the experience the music has to give. It is not simply a soundtrack to another ‘epic’ evening with the ‘bros’. It is not simply a theme song to use an excuse to interact with the opposite sex. It takes a lot more than that to really groove. Psychedelic Trance truly provides that, and to top it all, it is an anthem of a movement that is still going strong. Trusted in the hands of musical connoisseurs and new wave concepts that hold the solutions to all the problems our world has today.


    Author : Vir Rattan Chowdhry (Philostrate/SpaceCadet)

    Vir is a young and upcoming Psychedelic Trance Music Producer from India, studying sound engineering in Canada at the moment.

    Check out his soundcloud profile : https://soundcloud.com/philocadet
    & Facebook Page : www.facebook.com/philocadet26


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    It's no secret that mankind has been using various plants and herbs to heal and to attain extraordinary, visionary states of consciousness which the natives call a 'vision quest'. The Mazatec Indians have for long been known to consume hallucinogenic mushrooms as a holy sacrament to connect with the divine.


    Catholic Priest gets out of the Psychedelic Closet !


    An Interview with Catholic Priest José Luis Sánchez. By Oliver Quintanilla.

    It was during the recordings of Little Saints in Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, Mexico, that I interviewed Catholic Priest Jose Luis Sanchez. I wanted to know his opinion about the use of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms, in the Indigenous Mazatec rituals practiced in that area, and also about their relationship with the Catholic religion. The result of this interview was totally unexpected, I prepared for an interview with someone who was supposed to take a stand against the ritual, to my surprise it was quite the opposite.

    It seems to me a rather edgy stance of the Catholic Church in that region, but I dare to say, that I wished that Father José Luis, was the priest who gave Holy Mass in the elementary and middle Catholic schools to which I attended.

    I recently reviewed the almost one hour long interview, I decided to select the most relevant moments, especially the ones that did not make the final cut of Little Saints, and create an extended version of this talk.

    In the first part Father Sanchez tells us about an idea of creating a real Mazatec Church, that includes all that is Mazatec, that means the mushroom rituals. In the second part, he explains about the Mazatec Wise Ones, the medicine men and women who are responsible for helping their people, as well as the self-called guides that focus on serving tourists. And in the third and final part, the most revealing of them all, he shares about his own experiences with the Little Saints, name given to the mushrooms by the Mazatec people.

    This interview led me to write to Pope Francis, asking for his comment on the relationship between the sacred plants, spirituality and religion. And although His Holiness may be unaware of the existence of these rituals, because in May 2015, I introduced myself to the current priest at St. John Evangelist Church in Huautla, Father Guadalupe Olmedo Solis, to whom I asked if he knew, what The Vatican thought about the mushroom rituals? To which he replied that “most likely they don’t even know about them”. If that was the case, I consider it important that a dialogue begins, because as Father José Luis mentions [The mushroom rituals] "are part of a spirituality that can give great richness to the Church and the world".


    Today presents a unique opportunity to create conversation, and to raise awareness in the general public, about the use of sacred plants for spiritual and healing purposes. Especially now that the Pope will visit Mexico, and celebrate Holy Mass with the Indigenous community of Chiapas on February 15, 2016.

    Part 1: The Catholic Church.

    FATHER JOSÉ LUIS: The position of the Church towards the mushrooms, here in the sierra, has been turning every day, into a search for the truth of the Mazatec, the truth of the faith of the Mazatec. How is their form of expression, for knowledge, to worship, to understand God, so that the form can also enrich the Church, and all the other Churches. Let them not be strange things than they do in the Sierra, but it’s part of a spirituality that can give great richness to the Church and the world.

    To discuss with them about their wisdom, about their faith, morals, customs, and try to start laying the foundations of which would make a Real Indigenous Church, the Mazatec Church, without being separated from the Catholic Church, but with out saying, well we are a Roman Church, we are not. We have to be Mazatec Church, someday we have to achieve it, to be faithful to Christ, we must be Mazatec Church, and that shall include all that is Mazatec.

    It's not about making a folk church, no, but everything that gets done, has to be well-founded from their culture, and of course to be a Church, it has to be able to dialogue with Christianity, but a dialogue as equals, not a dialogue from inferior to superior.

    For example, we have had a lot of discussions about the indigenous concept of God. For the indigenous people God is both Father and Mother. In Europe God is only Father, that makes them feel unease, and it's very elementary we even find it at the beginning of the Bible, the duality of God. God the Father and Mother, the masculine and the feminine in God. And in Europe it still doesn’t sound good to them, because of their macho culture, they still can’t accept the concept of God Mother. The maternal face of God, even being in the Bible, Europe has not been able to assimilate.

    The Mazatecs have that ability to do their ritual, and within the same ritual, they invoke the owners of the hills, the “chicones", the supernatural beings, they invoke them, along with the Christian saints.

    In the evening rituals, we have examples that the Church should follow about faith inculturation. Under the effect of the mushroom the Mazatec dialogue with God, dialogue with the Saints, dialogue with Jesus Christ, with Mary, to find the light.

    When the Mazatecs take the mushrooms, they always say, the little mushroom, is saliva God, why? Because it makes us talk, it makes us engage in conversation, it gives us the capacity for dialogue.

    Translated into English we say the Little Saints but it is not diminutive, it’s of respect.

    Based on their attributes they say, it’s the blood of God, because it gives us life, it gives us the life of God. They are saliva of God because they make us speak, God makes us speak. They are like the wings of God, because they raise us, they lift us. They have many expressions that describe what the mushrooms do.

    OLIVER: The flesh of God also?

    FATHER JOSÉ LUIS: Flesh of God, because it nourishes us, it feeds us.

    God spread his blood around the world, and where his blood watered, Little Saints sprout, and those Little Saints are what gives us life, they are those who feed us, they are the flesh and blood of God, who left them for us, so we might have life. And they don’t say: "He left them here in Huautla" no. They say, "God's blood was not lost, it was poured across the world, and the Little Saints sprout worldwide so we have life."

    Part 2: The Sages.

    But the wise ones, who usually do not speak Spanish, They even use only a few elements of the Church. Their dialogue is with their supernatural beings. Their evening rituals are about reaching an encounter with God. They call the climax of the rite, to reach the sacred table. To arrive to the table, they say "yamixale títjon chjota” [pronounced ja me jan yi na], the table of richness. But the table of riches, they say, where God will hand out his gifts, where God will give you the true light, where he will show you your path.

    Not in all rites we arrive. In some, one stays in the purification phase, in others in the healing phase, when there is disease or something, but you rarely get to the sacred table. But the goal is always that, I will achieve such a dialogue with God.

    A truly wise one, never abandons their patient halfway through the trip. He or she will accompany the person through out the journey. Sometimes they go very far, and then return. Until the healer brings their patient back from where he or she went, the rite is completed.

    And many people here, they give them the mushrooms, they pray, they sing to them and then leave them. Do you have problems? Well then you solve them. There is no such dialogue, to say, well, what do you see? What do you feel? How are you? When people get lost, because sometimes we can find very beautiful things, it looks very nice. And the sage, the true sage tells you, "Wait, you didn't come to see flowers, you didn't come to see colors, you didn't come to sing, What did you come for? What do you want to resolve? Well, look for it. Do not stay here in the beauty. Find your problem, solve it.”

    When darkness or difficult things or animals or problems present, the wise one says,"Well this is your challenge. Follow it, follow it. You're going to win. Pray, ask God”. And the wise one prays, and starts to sing, uses “pisiete” [tobacco leaf mixed with lime], uses what the moment dictates, there isn’t a structured liturgy, but the wise one reads the now, to figure out what he must do, in order to help overcome the problems. It's really a walk with the person you're serving. And as far as you go, and then have to go back. The wise one never leaves halfway, but has to help to return.

    I see in that a big difference, one thing is to come to Huautla and say, "Well I want to see how it feels to take mushrooms". But another thing is really getting into a search process, of meeting and understanding the wisdom of God. And that hardly would be found here in Huautla. Here in Huautla, the best known [healers] are not recommended for a process of knowledge of the people.

    And many people do rituals, but they do it as family. Almost all Mazatecs do their rituals, but in a family setting. They meet each other, and help each other. So I think there is a big difference, to engage with the ones that come out of curiosity or to see, and another, is the ones who are engaged with their people, the ones who are helping their community. And it's very interesting here in Huautla, in this region we have seen an awakening of the vocation of sages. In young, and very young, sometimes 18, 20, 22, and they already feel that calling to fulfill this vocation.

    Part 3: May God enlighten us!

    I showed myself very reluctant to participate directly in the rituals for many years. I accompanied them, I was there, I helped them when they said they needed my help to pray, but I was there more as a companion. And I respected the ritual a lot, not to say that I didn't respected it before, but I would say, that's the Mazatec's space, and therefore I have to respect it. But gradually they would say: "You have to participate. It is not the same to only pray than to be within the rite”.

    And once, when there was some crisis in the working groups here in the parish, especially in groups in the grassroots communities, those who we were handling some of this inculturation process, the ones that we were working with the most said: “We have to do a ritual between the coordinators, and you have to participate." And then, "Let's ask God to enlighten us where we will walk."

    Then from there, the first experiences were very basic, I didn’t have so many visions. But I did have an experience of a very strong attitude of prayer. Maybe I did not see strange things, but I felt the need to pray with them, to be with them, to strengthen them. More than before. And those were group settings. And we had two or three like that, I did not have very strong experiences. But they were all intended to seek ways to solve problems.

    But after, a wise old man told us: "It is not good that a journey is done between too many people”, because some are strong, and some are weak, and if the guide doesn't know very well, they may end up ill, and the weak may end up worse. He said: "It is better to be addressed one by one, up to two". There may be more people present, but not everyone takes the Little Saints, maximum two, he says, to be taken care of well. He added: "A doctor does not put many people in his office and attends to everyone at the same time, he only sees one by one, to listen, to serve, and to analyze, that’s how it must be done." And it is true, some will pull the whole effect from others. A few get a strong effect, and others don’t get any, because it depends on the strength of each person.

    A situation that sometimes I do not understand much, the saints speak of bilocation, a saint is in his convent while at the same time healing the sick somewhere on another place. And one says: “Oh, the stories, right?”. But in the mushroom ritual, bilocation is possible. One does not lose the awareness of being here in Huautla, in a particular room, having a ritual, but at the same time, you can see yourself present, for example in the Basilica of Guadalupe. And one says, "Here I am and there's the Virgin and there it is ...". They may say, "Well, it’s a hallucination." Well ... perhaps. But it is the spirit that travels, and changes places while saying I'm here, but without losing sight of being here too. Ubiquity is not lost, the location of where one is located, it is a very curious phenomenon.

    And that’s how those experiences are done, and it is how one starts finding... it is like it helps bring clarity to problems. I have asked to the Mazatecs "Well , have you heard… Have you listened to God? Or have you seen God?". “No, we don’t see God, but we can hear. God can be heard through the Little Saints". It is heard through yourself, because you start talking and start saying words, but not rare words from another language, you start talking about things that maybe you could not think of before, let's say in all your senses, in a normal situation, you could not think of such things, but when you're under the effect of the mushrooms, as you go spinning ideas, you express them, and that helps you to bring clarity to your thinking and you say aha!, “I think that here, and through here, problems can be solved, or we can deal with this or that”.

    Or one may find meaning to things you did not understand. It happened to me with the elements of the ritual itself, the meaning of the offering presented, I suddenly understood “Aha! that’s why they do it that way”. But that knowledge sprouts from oneself. Some say that God makes you talk, well yes, you start to talk and to say things that you could not think of, and the mushroom helps you to get to understand many things. That has been a little of my experience. Very interesting to me. Very strong.

    OLIVER: Very Good. Thanks.

    Visit change.org and sign the petition to Pope Francis.

    Oliver Quintanilla is Director, Producer and Editor of the documentary Little Saints, a movie that talks about the use of psilocybin hallucinogenic mushrooms in a Catholic ritual, practiced by the Mazatec Indigenous People from Oaxaca, Mexico.

    For more information visit: http://LittleSaintsMovie.com



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    The psychedelic culture has grown exponentially over the years, even though the scene is mostly underground and not exactly mainstream as yet. Literally millions if not more, experiment with psychotropic substances every day. What's in your Baggie is a documentary film that looks closely at the psychedelic party scene and the various substances that are sold with highly toxic impurities which can be really dangerous for human consumption, hence are to be approached with a reasonable degree of caution.


    Common drugs from previous generations like LSD, mushrooms, cocaine and opiates are still popular, but they’ve been joined by the likes of MDMA and ecstasy, amphetamines, ketamine, and a massive array of others.


    In fact, there are so many different psychoactive substances floating through our country that people don’t even realize how complicated things have gotten.

    We quickly discovered that the majority of the time, people were surprised to find that their bag of drugs was not what they paid for.

    According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 243 new drugs have been reported since 2009.

    For whatever reason, many festival-goers and other young people alike seem to be thoroughly oblivious to the invasion of dangerous new drugs.

    Unfortunately, most substance users are unaware of the availability of substance test kits.



    Well, the MDMA you’ve been taking at festivals this summer is probably bath salts
    – VICE, Noisey

    Fake Drugs Are Taking Over Music Festivals—Here’s What You Can Do
    – VICE, Thump

    What’s Actually in the Drugs You Buy
    – High Times

    Molly Deaths May Be Caused By Other Drugs
    – NBC News

    Investigating US festival drug-testing and Dutch dance phenom Oliver Heldens grows up
    – Beatport

    Behind the Scenes Interview with the Crew of “What’s In My Baggie?”
    – NeuroSoup

    VIDEO: These Guys Tested a Bunch of Festivalgoer’s Drugs and Baffled Them With the Results
    – RYOT News

    ‘What’s In My Baggie?’ That MDMA At Music Festivals This Summer Was Probably Bath Salts
    – Canada Nightlife


    Reference : Whats in my Baggie ?!


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    Times have certainly changed since the Hippie Heaven of the sixties ... Peace, Love, Unity and Respect have been conveniently replaced by materialistic desires and greed. We have become so power hungry in our race to nowhere that we have forgotten what it is to be human. Our inner divinity cries out to be recognized, however in vain as our limited egos seem to have it all figured out, but only for as long as we allow our egos to stay in control. Some of us who like to self medicate using all kinds of psychedelic substances need to watch out for what we allow to enter our state of consciousness. Every substance no matter what its sold to us as, has a powerful effect on our lives, often underestimated by exuberant psychonauts, willing to accept any and all lethal combinations in unknown quantities and dozes.


    LSD is a powerful tool to be used for inner exploration and self discovery. Sadly, a lot of the LSD blotters sold out there today are research chemicals such as NBOME, DOB, etc ... There are so many different kinds of research chemicals out there, being freely sold online and way cheaper than the real deal. This has made it possible for some greedy people to take advantage of the situation and do whats best for business, jeopardizing lives of others who often believe they had a bad trip on ACID, whereas the real culprit is the research chemical which is sold as LSD in most places !

    There are some tell tale signs which can help one identify if the blotter has clean LSD or not. Firstly, most of the genuine LSD blotters I have seen have been kind of thick and with no taste at all, or at times a minty taste (in the form of drops), which I was told is a way to keep it undetected or to store it for longer. The bitter ones which have a strong metallic taste to them are the ones which are not acid but some research chemical, most probably one of the NBOME series. Check Erowid for more about this ! The NBOME Blotter is hence termed, "Bitter Spitter" indicating its not LSD and needs to be spat out as soon as you figure what it is. As beautiful, magical and joyous a journey on LSD can be, the contrasting research chemical experience can be unnerving, chaotic, confusing ... with its effects lasting at least 12 hours or more even on small dozes.


    LSD isn't something one needs to chase all the time. A powerful LSD experience once in a lifetime can be good enough to propel one on his/her soul path towards a deeper understanding of existence and our purpose being here. Its definitely not something one needs to keep doing too frequently as it can be damaging to the psyche to say the least, possibly leading to other complications. The psychedelic experience, coupled with Yoga, Meditation and other forms of energy work can open powerful pathways towards greener pastures, unexplored.

    The psychedelic experience is a shamanic ritual which is best experienced out there in the wilderness, soaked within the healing forest frequencies which unite us all. We may not have our forests as the perfect setting, but we do have this thing called 'intuition' deeply seated within us all, which when awakened allows us to have some sort of a vision ... a sense of knowing ... which helps us make more life affirming choices.


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    What are the things that come to mind when you hear the word hippie? For most people who have not taken a deeper look into the hippie lifestyle, it is long hair, torn clothes, drugs and basically a lazy person who does nothing much in life. However, I beg to differ.

    To me the term hippie symbolizes a person who is peace-loving, fun, free, spiritual, and creative while living life on his or her own terms. It may seem like an easy life, but it takes a lot of courage to break away from the power hungry corporate life that we as a society have created. So let’s take a brief look into what it takes to be a hippie.

    To be a hippie you have to travel, at least a bit:


    To travel is to explore the world and to explore the world is to explore yourself. Hippies love to travel not as tourists but in order to learn in-depth about various cultures and inculcate the best parts of them into their being. Hippies in the 60’s have travelled by buses, vans and even backpacked all the way from the U.S and Europe to Asian countries such as India, Nepal and Sri Lanka while working and earning along the way. In my books, that is definitely not easy.

    You cannot be a true hippie without being sustainable:


    Hippies try to be as organic and sustainable as possible. They believe that humanity should live and evolve along with the Earth rather than going against the natural course of nature. They are well aware of what they grow and eat. Today most of us buy food out of packages and have no idea what pesticides and chemicals are put into our food.

    You got to love your music:



    Hippies are groovy people who love their music and have created some of the most profound music of the century. They have managed to fuse various genres including rock & roll, jazz, blues and classical Indian music. The music of artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, Cream, The Beatles, CSNY and The Grateful Dead live on and have influenced millions around the world. Music festivals such as Woodstock, The Monterey Pop Festival and The Newport Folk Music Festival have not been forgotten for over 40 years now.

    If not a director, you could be a hippie movie buff:



    Some of the most artistic, well directed and thought provoking movies of the century have been filmed by hippies during their era. Films such as Easy Rider, The Trip, Head, 200 Motels and Yellow Submarine have underlying meanings which reinforced the hippie ideology of freedom, love, peace and music.

    Do you love art as much as hippies do?

    Hippies were creative geniuses. Colours were radiant, bright and trippy. Psychedelic art was found not just in art galleries but also on the streets, cars, buses and even on their clothes. The reason hippies loved colors is because they represent life and life should be led in a fun and colourful way.


    Back in the 60’s, a lot of hippies hardly wore any clothing because they believed in absolute freedom of body and mind and they were very comfortable in their own skin. However they did create a solid fashion statement with their tie and dye apparels, torn jeans, the Janis Joplin shades, bandanas and natural jewellery made out of crystals, beads and seashells. Check out some cool hippie clothing at https://www.facebook.com/hippiemerch.

    Are you spirituality rooted?


    Due to the wide use of sacred plants and entheogens, many hippies turned towards spirituality as they were trying to build a deeper connection to the Earth and all living beings around them. Many hippies turned towards the spiritual aspect of eastern practices such as Yoga, Meditation, Kundalini and Zen.

    It’s important to protest peacefully when your rights are violated :



    Hippies are socially motivated and strive to protect the earth and bring everyone together. They want the world to be absolutely free and when human and Earth rights are violated, peaceful protests against wars, the destruction of the environment and so on are organized. Hippies used music to bring people together. Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the wind’, John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For what it’s worth’ and Neil Young’s ‘Ohio’ are a few protest songs that created mass awareness through music and without them, the world as we know it would not have been the same.

    It is Fun to speak the Hippie lingo :


    Hippies had a lingo of their own and often used a lot of superlatives to describe events. Words such as flower power, cool, far out, peace, chill-out, bogart, take it easy, keep on truckin’ and dig-that were used prominently by hippies in the 60’s and some of them have stuck on to this day. It’s fun to add a few hippie words to your everyday speech and watch people’s reactions.

    It’s not easy to be a hippie, but there is a lot that we as a society can learn from the by-gone era. There is no doubt that change is required in our present society. However, the most important part of being a hippie, is to keep your spirits high and have a whole lot of fun because life was never made to be taken too seriously. So how hippie are you?


    Here are some interesting videos about the Hippie generation ... and how it all began .... :)








    Author : Shayne Reynolds


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    What is San Pedro cactus?

    San Pedro - Trichocereus pachanoi

    The oldest cacti date back 20.000 years ago. Its special looks are because of its ability to survive extreme dryness and heat. The thorns are of course the most qualifying characteristic of cacti, these are actually leaves without any moisture, which turned them into thorns. They are also to protect a cactus against bright sunlight and being eaten by animals. But, some kinds do not have thorns and protect themselves with poison/drugs. Examples are the Peyote, Sunami, Pata de Venado, Pezuna de Venado, Tsuwiri, Bishop's cap, Aztekium Retterii and Astropytum Astrias.


    Huachuma

    Mitch Schultz, director of DMT: The Spirit Molecule, invites you to join this 45 minute excursion deep into the heart of the Peruvian rainforest to experience the magic of the 3000 year old plant medicine: Huachuma. Distilled in the lost tradition from the San Pedro cactus by the last master Huachumero, Huachuma was the sacrament that formed the foundation for pre-Incan civilization, the Chavin. Follow Aubrey Marcus (founder of Onnit) and a group of friends in this moving meditation that reveals the true transformative power of this sacred technology.

    Preparation of San Pedro Cactus










    A San Pedro Ceremony with Leslie



    San Pedro aka Trichocereus Pachanoi is the most well known from the Trichocereus family. According to researchers like Backeberg the Trichocereus has 47 kinds, which al originate from South-America. Others say there are just 13 kinds. Besides the T. Pachanoi some other kinds do also contain mescaline. The amount of mescaline depends on the specie and age of the cactus.

    Botanical

    The San Pedro is a cactus with pillars with 4 to 9 ribbons. It grows quite fast, has a strong root system and branches of from the base of the stem. The San Pedro just keeps growing until it succumbs under its own weight. The fallen cactus will in nature root again and produce many new branches. This is why San Pedro is used as a grafting stem for other, difficult to grow, cacti.

    The older the cactus gets, and the more heat it has withstood, the more mescaline it contains. This is to be found right under the 'skin'.

    History

    In 1960 Turner and Heyman found that San Pedro contains mescaline and called this cactus Opunita Cylindtica. The name San Pedro originates from the idea that apostle Petrus is the keeper of the key to heaven. This shows how strongly the catholic religion has influenced other religions, habits and ideas.

    San Pedro cacti were (and still are) used by Indians from the area around the Andes: Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Use has hallucinogenic experiences as effect, which is needed be able to do specific predictions and to trace spiritual causes for diseases.

    Chemistry

    Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxy-B-phenethylamine) percentage : 1 to 10 % of dried material (Erowid).

    The San Pedro contains besides mescaline also tyramine, hordinenine, 3-methoxytyramine, anhalaninine, anhalonidine, 3,4-dimethoxyphen-ethylamine, 3,4-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-B-phenethylamine and 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-B- phenethylamine.

    Effects

    Approximately 1-2 hours after consumption the San Pedro will reveal itself to the user; effects can last 8-15 hours. Effects can be amongst others: extreme sensitiveness to light: being able to see and feel every ray of light and see people and things 'radiate'. Forgotten memories can return, being able to hear and see sounds and voices from far away, seeing the 'magic light'. Besides that, emotions come out as laughing, crying, screaming, feeling pleasure, fear, love, love for everything that is and everything that is not.

    The effects of San Pedro are in many ways more pleasant than those of peyote. To begin with, its taste is only slightly bitter and the initial nausea is not as likely to occur. When the full psychotropic experience takes hold it is less overwhelming, more tranquil and not nearly as physical as that from peyote.

    Medical use

    San Pedro has no commonly accepted medical use. But it has been used in a medical sense by several Indian tribes: by consuming this cactus, the unknown causes of a persons disease can be traced.

    Usage

    The traditional use of San Pedro is cooking (for a long time) the pieces of a whole cactus with some herbs added, like micha (Brugmansia suavenolens) and cimorillo (Coleus blumei). The additions depend on the results intended by the shaman.

    Nowadays cacti are eaten dry. Dry them in parts of 1 cm thickness and put them in the sun. The thorns and the wooden stem are not to be eaten. Best is to grind the edible parts into fine material. This is to avoid stomach problems. Between 20 and 50 grams is consumed of which the skin is the biggest part, often with water and citric acid to support a good assimilation by the body. Best is not to eat six hours before you start eating this cactus.

    Contraindications

    As with other psychoactives, eating San Pedro also gives a hangover before the actual trip starts. Fever, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting could possibly occur, but will disappear within one hour or so.

    Warnings

    Make sure you always have an experienced but sober person with you, for support and safety!

    The active compounds lead the user into a hallucinogenic trance which is comparable to a psychosis. So whatever you do, don't drive a car or participate in traffic otherwise. Only take San Pedro when you're in a safe and familiar environment. Never trip by yourself. When things go wrong Seresta or Valium can help to bring fears down to an 'easy to handle' level.

    Growing

    San Pedro loves warmth and light. On the hills where it usually grows the soil contains many nutrients, so add now and then some plant nutrients, but not too much because it still is a cactus. Giving it some extra water on warm days is really helpful. When you grow the cactus indoors, behind a window on the south-side is best. The first requirement is that sunlight comes through it.

    San Pedro is easy to grow and easy to multiply. To start growing means choosing between starting with seeds, a cutting or a plant. The plant only needs water and some nutrients. A cutting has to dry first (it has a cutting wound) and root in the ground before it starts growing, this can take up to a year.

    Growing from seeds asks for a lot of time (years) and effort.

    Source : Erowid


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    Twenty years ago, no one but scholars and committed psychonauts had heard of ayahuasca in the Western World. Today, it is the golden child of psychedelic cinema.

    Opening with a sequence that sets its cultural reference points with prior films – including clips from Daniel Pinchbeck’s 2012 documentary and interviews with visionary artist Alex Grey – Daniel LeMunyan’s “Eye of the Needle” establishes itself as a member of the emerging “documentaries mainstreaming indigenous traditions” genre essentially started by Mitch Schultz with his film DMT: The Spirit Molecule. It goes on to spend twelve minutes mating MTV with La Madre Ayahuasca and the DSLR revolution. A filter-heavy short in love with trippy tilt-shifts, burned-out jungle landscapes, and grainy hand-held village shots, “Eye of the Needle” is more downtown than upriver.

    The film does its best to make up for its short run time with regular explanatory subtitles, replacing (or sometimes in addition to) narration, which somehow succeed in keeping LeMunyan relatively transparent while packing information into the film to psychedelically intense degrees. But they also make it hard to sink into the intense and exotic spaces he captures – nothing is given its due, especially during the appropriately rapid-fire, luminous, and disorienting climactic medicine journey sequence. Don’t take the ayahuasca experience lightly; the “real thing” isn’t a 2 minute walk in the park.


    Next to other ayahuasca-mentaries like Vine of the Soul, Aya: Awakenings, Stepping Into The Fire and even the fictional Blueberry (released in the US as Renegade), this thirteen-minute blip of a trip feels more like ayahuasca’s freebased cousin DMT with Travel Channel seasoning. But for the Youtube generation, trying to watch three things at once is normal – and this film still contributes to the work of sharing this important medicine and its traditions with the world.

    - Michael Garfield

    Source


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